Independence Heritage Museum Director Natascha Adams departs to helm a new museum operation 

By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service 
  
Natascha Adams, who has a master’s degree in museum studies from George Washington University, landed her position as director of the Independence Heritage Museum in an unusual way – as a former hopyard-venue manager, a business co-owner, a branch director for the YMCA and a volunteer recruitment specialist for Oregon’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman. 

But now she’s moving on to a job in the same field, as curator of exhibitions with the Benton County Historical Society. She will help oversee a museum in Philomath and one in downtown Corvallis. 

Though it sounds like a wise professional move to everyone who’s been asked about it, her incentive was the failure of the levy on the November ballot, Adams confirmed in a brief interview this week. The “uncertainty” that resulted from the levy’s defeat led her to leave “the privilege of imagining, creating, and building the museum in its new location,” she said in a letter announcing her departure. 

“I don’t fully have the words to express how much I treasure and love the community of Independence,” she added as part of her message. 

Adams lived in Independence for nearly a dozen years before moving to a different part of Polk County. She has been a force in heightening the museum's visibility since its grand reopening at the current downtown location in the spring of 2022.

Diana Lindskog, a former city councilor and long-time volunteer for the museum, is an  admirer of Adams, and she said she’s disappointed to see her go. “I am very sad about it but very happy for her, too. She did a wonderful job,” Lindskog said. 

Patty Nevue, who helms the Ella Curran Food Bank, said that Adams’ contribution to the museum is known by many. Jim Humphreys, president of the Heritage Museum Society, agreed, noting that Adams showed innovation and energy throughout her tenure. 

Jim and Amy Dawson, professors at Western Oregon University, recalled that Adams was responsible for creating the “birds of prey” exhibit that included presentations by them – they are both ornithologists – and gave educational talks at the museum with live birds of prey. 

The crowd-drawing visits were mentioned as a landmark event by many who were asked about Adams, including Humphreys, who said he considered the events an example of her fresh ideas that struck a chord with the public. 

Like Adams, he is concerned about the future of the museum.

Billy  Whisenant, commander of  American Legion Post 33 in Independence,  observed that the veterans group and the museum have shared a good  relationship – and credits Adams as helping forge it. The museum  participated in various veteran activities, including the creation of  the signage for the kiosk for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, he noted. 

Independence had sought a five-year local tax – $1.82 per $1,000 of assessed property value – to support the city’s museum, library and parks. Without the money from the levy, funding is only assured through the end of June. The three are threatened with shutdown or shorter service hours and reduced days of operation, according to a statement published by the city. 

One idea that has been floated is enabling part-time curator Amy Christensen to step partly into Adams’ shoes, while solutions are sought for financing the museum. 

“What I am hoping for is a period of transition,” Humphreys said – time in which alternatives could be explored, perhaps in the realm of non-profit fundraising that would include more emphasis on grants and donations to start to fill in some of the financial gaps. ▪

A Trammart News Editorial Essay: City Debt in 2025. What’s Next? 

By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service Editorial
  
The worst is yet to come, so hang on tight. Trammart News will be right there with you, every fiscal step of the way. 

A $15 million debt on the Independence Civic Center will soon require payments by the city beyond interest-only amounts, burdening the already strained general fund. Considered dead on arrival was a five-year levy aimed at restoring financial stability to the museum, library and parks. And, as the municipal audit of city finances draws to a close this month, the starting point left behind from the last audit is a million dollars over the city’s debt limit. 

What happened? A combination of longtime city spending in which warnings about these possible over-expenditures by an outside auditor went unheeded, along with longtime legal limits on property tax revenue – Measures 5 and 50 – that are putting the squeeze on other cities, too. 

The references City Manager Kenna West repeatedly made about her predecessors’ habit of relying on fund transfers seemed to take a toll on the public perception, too – these sums were revealed to add up to $15 million. “OK, I get it, she inherited the problem,” commented one homeowner. “But sitting right there (on the council) were some of the people responsible for it.” 

Another factor mentioned by residents who were queried about their skepticism over transparency included observations about the city manager’s leadership, from allegedly imparting “zero” information about the status of the municipal pool since its closure to attempts at quashing news coverage by Trammart News – with a ban that has meant the city communications director has failed to answer even basic questions from this media outlet. 

“It makes that whole thing about ‘We are trying to be transparent’ look phony,” said one. 

In fact, to check on some of the information for this editorial essay, the city’s communication director, Emmanuel Goicochea, was queried by Trammart News three times. (Once by email, once by dropping off a printed inquiry for his city hall mailbox and once by voice mail.) As is typical, there was no response. To be sure that the sums were presented fully and factually, Trammart News – Anne Scheck – made them public at the podium during the most recent city council meeting.

A few who regularly view the city council meeting seemed saddened by the last one, in which no mention was made about any upcoming discussion for meeting the challenges of the year ahead. The only cutback so far is a reduction of Independence Days from a three-day event to only two, a move approved Tuesday night. 

In what may have been her last official public act for the Independence City Council Tuesday night, City Recorder Karin Johnson – who is retiring at the end of this month – shared results of the city’s levy vote, defeated by nearly a two-to-one margin. 

To outside experts consulted by Trammart News, that means “no” votes so thoroughly outnumbered “yes” votes that a reversal is unlikely in a future attempt. And a future attempt is just what is likely to be undertaken. Let’s hope so, anyway. The apparent alternative would be to shutter these services.  

“The city now faces important decisions about the future of these departments,” according to a news release issued by the city after the bulk of the levy votes were tallied. Options for “how to proceed” are on the table, according to the posting. 

News of the more than $15 million debt on the Independence Civic Center, along with the failed levy, arrives at a time when the next monthly utility bill will include a $20 public-safety fee, instituted this coming year to shore up depletions of the General Fund for the Independence Police Department. Unlike Monmouth's city hall, the Independence Civic Center was not funded by a voter-approved bond but is an on-going debt against the general fund.

Of course, Independence isn’t the only city facing this fiscal cliff. Salem seems poised on the same precipice, as well. But part of the reason appears remarkably similar. Both cities poured investment money into new ventures for growth. 

In Salem, the city allocated large sums to its municipal airport, to encourage carriers to schedule flights in and out of the city. Independence did something similar on its riverfront, waiving system development charges to draw hotel construction for boosting tourism. However, as former Independence City Manager Tom Pessemier once pointed out, the $2 million for those riverfront SDCs should be considered a loan and paid back in full. 

As the year draws to a close, the city’s previous municipal audit shows an outstanding debt of about $37.5 million – with a general debt limit of about $36 million. Like some states, Oregon restricts city debt with a cap based on a percentage of total city assets. 

However, excess debt can remain just that, until it’s reduced; Oregon law effectively forbids cities from filing for Chapter 9 bankruptcy – only irrigation and drainage districts can do so. 

So, more loans would seem a questionable option, given the debt load – property taxes are likely to remain the primary revenue supply. “The city takes their share and that is what we have to work with,” stressed Independence City Finance Director Rob Moody in a videotaped explanation of last year’s budget. 

As Independence begins to meet these challenges in 2025, Trammart News – despite the city’s ongoing effort to keep the news outlet from fact-checking and fact-finding – will be watching spending decisions along with residents who tune into the city council and other public meetings. 

So, fasten your seat belts engaged citizens of Independence, you and I may be in for a bumpy ride. -- Anne Scheck  ▪

An illuminating tour of home holiday displays in the downtown area 

By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service

Lights! Camera! Cocoa! 

A car ride as dusk descends on the city’s downtown is all it takes to make even the grinchiest, gloomiest, most scrooge-like spirits bright. 

The easy-to-follow route includes a Christmas tree to rival the one on the Western Oregon University campus, a house that’s become regionally famous for its spectacular illumination and a home with a front porch so covered in holiday wreaths it could pass for a forest glen. 

And Santa’s on the itinerary, too, of course. 

Grab a cup of coffee, toasty tea or hot chocolate and get on your way. There are many places to view that capture holiday magic in lights and decorations. 

Start by turning onto Gun Club Road from Hoffman Road and look off to your right. Wait a minute, you don’t even need to do more than glance! Looming like a movie set is a tree bedecked with oh-so-many lights by a house lit up the same way.

Drive a little further and keep an eye out for Williams Street. Take a left on it and prepare to be awestruck by glittering glimmer. This seasonal show has been thrilling Independence residents – and those beyond the city limits – for years. 

Get back on Gun Club Road and go all the way to the Monmouth Street intersection. Turn left and you’ll spy an entire row of houses covered with lights. Are these neighbors trying to outdo one another or simply create their own block of bright lights? Either way, it’s a sight to behold. 

Is it time to break into a Christmas carol yet? 

You can strike up a few bars of this one: “Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the lights are so delightful. And since we’ve got nowhere to be, let’s drive to more we can see.” 

Of course, that’s not how the song really goes, but it works for this special trip. 

As you nearly reach Farnstrom Mortuary, look for Santa on your left – surrounded by shining lights, of course. When you stop at the Main Street intersection, be sure to look at Umpqua Bank, lit by bulbs framing the historic windows with a Christmas tree inside.  

Turn right and then hang another right on D Street. Off to your right is the Pink House Café, all dressed up with lights, lights, lights. 

Proceed to 4th & D streets and look to your right. The porch is packed with wreaths, dense greenery that looks as if it was plucked from a Madrigal dinner celebration.

Turn right again on 5th Street and the two houses on the left as you approach Monmouth Street are downright bedazzling. At the stop sign, turn right on Monmouth Street (again) and this time when you get to the intersection with Main, take a left. 

Drive slowly down Main Street, if you can. The luminous streetlamp poles look like candy sticks, topped with circles of holiday wreaths. The café lights festooning the sidewalks make the scene look like it’s a holiday card come to life. 

This is Main Street in Independence, all aglow, heralding the arrival of Christmas and Hanukkah on December 25. ▪

A new bond idea is set afloat at school board meeting 

By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service

A relatively small bond that details necessary projects at each Central District building – one that completely drops a proposal to construct a new Monmouth Elementary School – likely would have a much better chance of passing this spring than the one that failed on last month’s ballot, according to Shannon Ball, a parent volunteer known for her activism in local education. 

“Go out for a smaller, specific bond that doesn’t include deferred interest,” she urged, adding that district officials should consider an exploratory committee for the outcome of Monmouth Elementary School.

Ball made her comments Monday night at the Central School District Board meeting – and her opinion was backed up by other parents, who told Trammart News they agreed with her. 

If the CSD Board presents another voter-approved bond in May that makes replacement of Monmouth Elementary School a priority, it is doomed to fail, some parents said. Though several didn’t want to be identified by name, they called for recognition of their view, warning that public opinion is likely to be altered favorably only by passage of a bond that gives near-immediate attention to current infrastructure problems. 

Taxes  are going up next year via CSD, with or without the bond, according to  one local homeowner. "This year those taxes, even without that six-cent or so increase from the bond, will go up by quite a bit," he said.  

Others  have said the district needs to emphasize swift action was taken after the "tax surprise" of 2023. The firm hired by the district to issue the  bond recommendation had advised that change; As a result, CSD no longer  retains that bond counsel for bond planning purposes, according to  district sources. 

A smaller bond could accomplish the repairs and restoration, such as fixing leaky roofs and installing appropriate drainage to make outdoor play areas fully functional at elementary schools. This would demonstrate visible gains with tax dollars, potentially paving the way for a bigger bond, a few suggested.

Lack of public “trust” and a “disconnect” with some voters were two words used by board member Melanie Landon-Hays to describe possible reasons behind the recent bond defeat. Improved communication about the “constraints we are under” would be one way to address that, she said. 

“There was also a misunderstanding that voting yes was akin to giving a blank check,” said Board Member Susan Graham, who reported on a post-election discussion by the “facilities committee,” which was largely responsible for the information campaign promoting the bond. Graham was at tabling events with pamphlets and was present at many of the tours and forums offered by the district. 

Though the school board seems to have made replacement of Monmouth Elementary School a priority, an informal survey of families conducted by Trammart News a few months ago showed the public is confused about why an entirely new school is necessary to meet safety concerns. The multiple individual doors of the “California model” by which Monmouth Elementary School was built – with many separate buildings – is seen by district officials as making it vulnerable to intruders. 

However, one of the questions posed by Ball at the meeting touched on this point: Could modifications answer that? The concept of safety being so compromised by four dozen doors seems lacking in evidence to some. 

In fact, many Southern California schools that have been built with the same general architectural plan are now protected by fencing, which was installed specifically for security purposes. The California Department of Education advises implementing what is termed “territorial protection” measures, such as fences, walls and other barriers that limit entry points to a few gates. Security cameras are also considered key by that state’s education-safety division. In her testimony, Ball called for specific language in what will be done with bond money. 

This is an approach currently being undertaken by Polk County as it prepares to launch a local-option levy. In a brief interview this week, Polk County Administrator Greg Hansen explained three critical elements that the county will be including so that voters “pretty much know precisely what they’ll be getting.” The levy aims to improve Polk County Fairground facilities. The levy hasn't been formalized or adopted for the May ballot, but a hearing on it is scheduled in early January, Hansen explained. 

The county is keeping it as low-cost as possible – 15 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value – and it spells out in detail what the money will finance, from new administrative office space to refurbishment of walkways. Those two elements – low on cost, high on specifics – are considered essential, Hansen said. 

Though county staff haven’t promoted the concept of a bond – nor can they under Oregon law – the facts showing need have been aired year after year in a public way, in Fair Board reports that show growth in attendance at the site against a background of deferred maintenance. This has been repeatedly conveyed.

Several at the county said they hope this continual message – having to work around areas of disrepair on the Fairground campus – will resonate with voters who are likely to be familiar with those circumstances by now. 

However, “we know we will have competition,” Hansen said. Both CSD and the City of Dallas are expected to have bonds on the ballot this May – and Independence seems likely to do so, as well, he noted. 

Ball said she is advocating for a “scaled-back” school bond, and pointed out that if it passes, the state will release another $6 million to the district. That could go a long way toward the enhancements being sought for schools, she said. ▪

What's behind low 3rd-grade state test scores for Latino-Hispanic students? 

By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service
  
Recently released state test scores for third graders in Central School District indicate only 27% are at grade level in English Language Arts  – and more than twice as many white-Caucasian students show proficiency (37%) compared with Hispanic-Latino (16%). 

Is there a better way to assess such lagging students? A school board member suggested this past fall that the testing itself can be a setback for some.

Third grade is considered a make-or-break point in public education. “Research shows that students who can't read at grade level by third grade are four times more likely to leave high school without a diploma,” according to the district’s website. 

The state report shows CSD third-grade language arts scores are flat over last year; The state average for third grade is 40%. 

Latino-Hispanic students can face special stress from tests, noted CSD Board Member Jann Jobe. Earlier this fall, she observed that members of same group undergo periodic English Language Proficiency Assessment, a test measures and reports on students’ English language proficiency in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and comprehension. 

Jobe, a former teacher who served as an interim principal at Central High School, said these students can experience a deep-seated sense of failure from such testing, which may dramatically impact their attitude about school. “I have seen them in tears,” she said. 

In a brief conversation after the CSD school board meeting Monday night, Jobe said she favors, in some cases, a “portfolio approach” that would examine and evaluate student work and achievement over longer intervals of time rather than the traditional “snapshot” from a once-a-year state test.

The portfolio is a collection of student work, from essays to writing exercises, which assesses progress over months. But the portfolio method can take a lot of teacher time to provide guidance and evaluate growth, Jobe pointed out. 

Following Jobe’s comments this past fall, some community members said they also question the single-test method. Jennifer Ranstrom-Smith, a former Independence city councilor who graduated from Central High School, said there was “a cultural divide” when she attended CSD schools, and she remains concerned about those separations when the school experience should be a “melting pot.” 

However, outside support plays a big role, too, she said. “Parental, family involvement is key,” Ranstrom-Smith said. 

CSD, like other districts across the state, has been battling chronic absenteeism. However, the tide of absences seems to be turning. Last year, CSD's regular attenders were up five percent over the previous one – with substantial gains in attendance at Independence Elementary School and Central High School, said CSD Superintendent Jennifer Kubista. 

Kubista added that there has been good growth in both English language arts at the third grade level and in attendance. She made the observation at the last school board meeting.

Attendance went from 58 percent to 63 percent of students who are there regularly – defined as attending school 90 percent or more of the time. However, though a majority of white and Asian students are regular attenders, Hispanic-Latino students are lower in that metric, too. Only 58% are classified as achieving regular attendance. ▪​

When is sidewalk merchandise an intrusion? 

By Anne Scheck
Trammart News Service

What’s the difference between a curbside landscape of plants-plus-sundries and a cluttered-up sidewalk? That’s what Kay Hales, proprietor of The Collection on Main, would like to know. “It’s hard to understand,” she said.

A recent letter from the City of Independence warned her that her “outdoor display and materials outside the business” are out of order, at least to some degree. 

Just outside the storefront at 278 S Main Street is eye-catching merchandise to help capture customers as they walk by and, across the walkway under a tree is a landscape of potted plants and garden art. 

What’s not to love? That was the reaction of another merchant, who said Hales dresses up the street in a way that brings color and character to the thoroughfare.

The city mandates a five-foot-wide path for “pedestrian travel,” a clearance that appears to be the case despite the merchandise. However, the letter also appears to point out the materials aren’t allowed at all in the public right-of-way, which Hales said she finds confusing; Also, no display can be left outdoors when the business isn’t open. Statuary by the tree is heavy and nearly impossible to repeatedly lug inside, she noted. 

City Planning Manager Fred Evander, who signed the letter, was questioned about the restrictions contained within it. He acknowledged that three business have been sent notices. Also, the notifications appear to be complaint-driven – the letter is titled “Responding to Citizen Concerns.” 

When told certain seasonal decorations also seem to be violating those same rules – a line-up of pumpkins had been placed outside the portal of one store for Thanksgiving, hand-crafted items were placed outside another for sale – Evander said he wasn’t sure when enforcement would begin, or whether it would be during the holiday period. 

Asked where the city regulation could be found, Trammart News was referred to the ordinance in subchapter 33 of the city code, “Mixed Use Pedestrian Friendly Zone and Downtown Overlay Zone.” 

However, on page 16 of that section, the text states that exterior displays are allowed for a week at a time, as long as they add “to the intrigue of the public realm without detracting from the overall character of the district by creating a cluttered environment.” A rack of sweaters is pictured, apparently to illustrate what a positive addition looks like. 

Businesses that were queried had no idea about the city standard, and Hales was urged to reach out to Evander – she has indicated she intends to do so. One downtown customer who had met with Evander for professional reasons a couple of years ago said he is confident a compromise can be reached. “Fred is very collaborative,” he said. ▪